HAMLET

i. Hamlet (play), tragedy of revenge by English playwright William Shakespeare. Probably written in 1601, Hamlet is generally considered the foremost tragedy in English drama. Numerous commentaries have been written analyzing every aspect of the play, and interpretation of Hamlet’s character and motivation continue to be subjects of considerable interest.
ii. The story of Hamlet originated in Norse legend. The earliest written version is Books III and IV of Historia Danica (History of the Danes), written in Latin around 1200 by Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus. Shakespeare's source for Hamlet was either an adaptation of Saxo's tale, which appeared in Histoires Tragiques (1576) by François Belleforest, or a play, now lost, which was probably written by English dramatist Thomas Kyd. The lost play is referred to by scholars as Ur-Hamlet, meaning “original Hamlet.”

• Hamlet opens at Elsinore castle in Denmark with the return of Prince Hamlet from the University of Wittenberg, in Germany. He finds that his father, the former king, has recently died and that his mother, Queen Gertrude, has subsequently married Claudius, his father's brother.
• Claudius has assumed the title of king of Denmark. Hamlet’s sense that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark” is intensified when his friend and fellow student Horatio informs him that a ghost resembling his dead father has been seen on the battlements of the castle.
• Hamlet confronts the ghost, who tells him that Claudius murdered him and makes Hamlet swear to avenge his death. In order to disguise his feelings, Hamlet declares that from now on he will demonstrate an “antic disposition.” His behavior appears to everyone but Claudius to be a form of madness.
• To satisfy his growing questions about whether Hamlet is feigning madness, Claudius makes three attempts to verify Hamlet’s sanity. In his endeavor he makes use of Ophelia, the daughter of the lord chamberlain, Polonius; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, university friends of Hamlet; and finally Polonius himself. Polonius, sure that Hamlet's madness is the result of disappointed love for Ophelia—for Polonius has instructed her to keep aloof from the prince—arranges a “chance” encounter between the lovers that he and the king can overhear. Hamlet is not deceived. He bitterly rejects Ophelia and uses the occasion to utter what Claudius alone will recognize as a warning.
• In the meantime, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have arrived at court. They talk about the company of players that has followed them to Elsinore. This suggests to Hamlet a means for eliminating all doubts about the king's guilt.
• He has the players perform a piece, “The Murder of Gonzago,” that reproduces the circumstances of his father's murder. Claudius interrupts the performance, and Hamlet and Horatio interpret this as a betrayal of his guilt.
• Queen Gertrude, angered at what she considers Hamlet's rudeness at the play, summons him to her chamber. On his way Hamlet comes upon Claudius kneeling in prayer. Hamlet overhears the king’s plea to heaven for forgiveness for the act that procured him his crown and his queen. No longer doubting the king's guilt, Hamlet still refrains from killing him.
• He reasons that the present circumstances seem too much like absolution and that he should reserve his revenge for some occasion when Claudius's death would be certain to be followed by damnation.
• By the time Hamlet arrives at his mother's chamber, Polonius, with the complicity of both the king and the queen, has concealed himself behind a tapestry in the hope that Hamlet will reveal the cause of his odd behavior. The queen begins the interview in a challenging tone that infuriates Hamlet, who has long brooded over his mother’s marriage to Claudius so soon after his father's death. Hamlet’s response is so violent that Gertrude screams, causing Polonius to cry out for help. Thinking it is the king, Hamlet thrusts his sword through the tapestry and kills Polonius.
• Claudius then sends Hamlet to England, escorted by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, ostensibly for the prince's safety but in fact to have him executed on his arrival. During Hamlet's absence Laertes, the son of Polonius, returns from Paris, France, to avenge his father's death. Laertes finds that his sister Ophelia, grief stricken by her father's death at the hands of the man she loves, has gone mad. Her suicide by drowning increases Laertes's desire for revenge.
• Meanwhile, Hamlet is attacked by sea pirates and persuades them to return him to Denmark. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, however, continue on their way to England; Hamlet has replaced their written order for his execution with another naming them as the victims. When Hamlet returns unexpectedly to witness the funeral of Ophelia, the king suggests to the vengeful Laertes that he challenge Hamlet to a fencing match in which Laertes will use an unprotected foil tipped with poison.
• As a backup, should Laertes's skill or nerve fail, the king prepares a poisoned cup of wine to offer Hamlet. In the excitement of the ensuing duel, the queen insists on drinking from the cup. Hamlet and Laertes are both mortally wounded, for in the violence of the bout the rapiers have changed hands.
• The dying queen warns Hamlet of the poison. Laertes points to the king as the chief instigator, and Hamlet at once stabs his uncle with the poisoned foil. With his last breath Hamlet exchanges forgiveness with Laertes and asks Horatio to make clear to the world the true story of his tragedy.
• Fortinbras, a prince of Norway, appears on the scene. He had earlier been granted permission to lead the Norwegian army across Denmark to attack Poland and has now returned from his military campaign. With all of the claimants to the Danish throne dead, Fortinbras claims the crown.
TEXT/ MOVIE CHECK:


1. Claudius, the new King and husband of Queen Gertrude, announced their marriage in a gathering at Elsinore.
A. True B. False
2. __________________asked Hamlet to stay at Elsinore rather than pursue studies at Wittenberg.
A. Cladius B. Gertrude
3. He informed Hamlet about the ghost appearing at the rooftop for three consecutive midnights.
A. Laertes B. Horatio
4. He said “Let not the royal bed of Denmark be a couch for luxury and damned incest”
A. The ghost of King Hamlet B. Horatio
5. The line “Oh, most pernicious woman!” refers to________________.
A. Ophelia B. Gertrude
6. After seeing an indifferent attitude of Hamlet to Ophelia, ___________ told Gertrude that the noble son, Hamlet, is mad.
A. Claudius B. Polonius
7. In the soliloquy of Hamlet, the line says “To be or not to be, that is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer _________________”
A. the stones and arrows B. the slings and arrows
8. When Hamlet saw the troupe of players arriving, he _____________ as sign of welcome and appreciation.
A. laughed B. shouted
9. The players performed a tragedy--a piece entitled ____________________.
A. The Murder of Gonzalo B. The Murder of Gonzago
10. The actor who gave the signal to start the tragedy was holding __________________.
A. a trumpet B. tambourines
11. The play reproduced the circumstance of King Hamlet’s murder. Claudius, as he watched the play, stood and unconsciously dropped his __________________.
A. sword B. cup of wine
12. When Hamlet confronted his mother about her incestuous marriage with her uncle, he noticed a figure eavesdropping behind the tapestry. Thinking that it was ___________,he stabbed him to death.
A. Claudius B. Polonius
13. Polonius is the father of Laertes and Ophelia.
A. True B. False
14. The death of Polonius caused Ophelia’s madness. This eventually led her to commit suicide by_________.
A. drowning herself B. stabbing herself
15. The skull which the grave digger gave to Hamlet was______________.
A. Yorick’s B. Rosencrantz’s
16. Hamlet, in his exile, met Laertes and her mother during______________.
A. Ophelia’s death day B. Ophelia’s funeral day
17. Claudius put a drop of poison in the cup of wine in which he would asked Hamlet to drink . Laertes did the same to assure Hamlet’s death.
A. True B. False
18. During the duel, Laertes cut the ______________ of Hamlet.
A. left arm B. right arm
19. ________________drank the wine, without knowing that it has a poison, to celebrate Hamlet’s triumph in the duel.
A. Gertrude B. Rosencrantz
20. He portrayed the role of Hamlet.
A. Mel Gibson B. Alan Bates